Shakuntala v. Robert Anthony

Property Law - Succession Act, 1925 - Sections 33, 35 and 38 - Applicability of - Nature of Inherited Property.

Where property is purchased in the names of a husband's wives, it constitutes the property of the wives and not the husband. Consequently, the provisions of Section 33 of the Indian Succession Act, which apply to a male dying intestate, are inapplicable to the entirety of the property. Section 35 (Rights of widower) applies only to the share of the property belonging to the wife who predeceased the husband, granting the husband rights comparable to those of a widow. The inheritance of the surviving wife’s property, upon her intestate death, is governed by the rules under Section 38. Inheritance under the Indian Succession Act does not create a "joint family property" as conceived under Hindu Law; rather, such property is held as a tenancy-in-common. [Para 10]